I guess in regards to Toyota's Synergy drive system, a few things need to be understood about efficiency. Toyota have The ONLY Hybrid vehicle which successfuly uses a combination of both the Petrol and the electric engine. either the Prius or the Hybrid Camry are the ONLY real current solutions to reducing green house emissions while motoring. The electric engine is used where the petrol engine is most innefficient, at take off. and the petrol engine is used when all is needed is for the rev's to tick over, and keep the car moving. Hybrid technology, removes all the thirsty ancillories from the engine. The AC, and the PS are powered from the Hybrid Electric Battery. The petrol engine can then run at its most efficient when being used for either driving the car forward, or charging the battery when not under load. Because of the vast distances which we have here in Autralia, Charging stations will take a long time to start to appear. But because the Hybrid Synergy Drive system we have is a combination of the two, by using small amounts of Petrol, we can cover vast distances. (Prius 3.9l/100km and Hybrid Camry 6.0l/100km - these are combined figures) While i can appreciate the argument, saying, "i make most of my trip in urban areas, most in stop start traffic, so an EV car would be best" Of course it would be!!!! The Toyota HSD would run, on just the electric motors if need be. Only tipping in a little bit of fuel everynow and then to suppliment the battery power. and without trying to sound like a Toyota Salesman, i would own a Hybrid camry any day. they are probably the best car package on the road when you consider all the categories. Safety, Power, Comfort, Technology, Fuel Efficiency. If you havent driven the Hybrid Camry, i suggest you give one a go. end sales speel/